Augusta -

AUGUSTA, Maine –¬† A recent study of 388 AmeriCorps member exit surveys has shown that AmeriCorps attracts and retains young, well educated, civically minded members to the state of Maine, and that 55% of those AmeriCorps volunteers choose to stay in Maine to live and work beyond the time of their service.

Sixty percent (155 members) came to Maine from other states specifically to serve their AmeriCorps terms. Of these 155 members, 91% of them were young adults between the ages of 19-30 and 71% of them already held a post-secondary degree. These young and educated individuals who came to Maine to serve were also civically minded. Eighty-two percent of them volunteered on an occasional or regular basis before joining AmeriCorps.

Why do so many members stay in Maine long after their service has finished? According to the Civic Life in America Report that is put out annually by the Corporation for National and Community Service, people who volunteer with an organization, such as AmeriCorps, are much more likely to participate in other forms of civic engagement. The more civically involved that a citizen becomes, the deeper their roots into a community become. Our study revealed that 52% of the AmeriCorps members ‚Äúfrom away‚ÄĚ volunteered outside of their host site and within the communities. One of the members said, ‚ÄúI have never felt more like a member of a community than I have while serving in AmeriCorps; and I’m not even from Maine.‚ÄĚ Our study also revealed that, upon the completion of service, 37% of the members ‚Äúfrom away‚ÄĚ decided to stay in their Maine communities to live and work.

You can view the full report at http://volunteermaine.org/media/docs/library/2011/12/16/2009-2011_AC_Member_Profile.pdf

The Maine Commission for Community Service is the state government partner of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that administers AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Volunteer Generation programs.

The state Commission builds capacity and sustainability in Maine’s volunteer and service communities by funding programs, developing managers of volunteers and service-learning practitioners, raising awareness of sector issues, and promoting service as a strategy to solve local problems.